Etihad Airways Celebrates Diwali And Brings The True Taste Of Home To The Skies

* Diwali sweets and treats to be served on all 11 Indian routes as well as flights to the UK, US, Canada and Sri Lanka

*Authentic regional dishes are now served across all cabins on Indian routes, featuring traditional recipes and fresh ingredients to enhance the guest experience.

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, is enhancing its inflight dining experience  through partnerships with local catering providers across India. With 2024 marking 20 years of Etihad  flying to India, the collaboration brings authentic regional cuisine to guests across all cabins, ensuring  genuine local flavours on every flight.

Through these local partnerships, Etihad now offers dishes that truly  reflect each region’s rich culinary heritage across its comprehensive network of Indian cities:  Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad,  Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Mumbai, New Delhi and  Thiruvananthapuram. Guests experience  distinctive regional specialities and traditional flavours unique to  each departure city. 

“Food is deeply personal and connects us to our culture and traditions," says Turky Al Hammadi, Director of Product and Hospitality at Etihad Airways “Working with local culinary experts across  our network allows us to bring authentic dishes to our guests, ensuring they experience genuine flavours that remind them of home”.

The enhanced dining experience features cuisines distinctive to each  region. Mumbai departures  showcase Maharashtrian flavours, while New Delhi flights highlight the  richness of Mughlai cuisine.  Guests departing from other cities across India similarly enjoy their own  regional specialities prepared  according to traditional recipes.

This collaboration with local providers not  only ensures authentic taste  experiences but also demonstrates Etihad’s commitment to the  communities it serves, supporting  local businesses while bringing genuine flavours to guests throughout  their journey.

Festive treats mark  Diwali across select routes

 Etihad will also be celebrating Diwali, the festival of lights,  by treating guests on selected routes to a delicious range of traditional Indian sweets and delicacies on 31  October and 1 November.

Guests can indulge in a delightful selection of traditional Diwali sweets including  the traditional Laddu, milk-based Barfi, cardamom-spiced Peda, rose-scented Gulab Jamun, and  golden Jalebi, alongside festive favourites like Kalakhand, Gujhia and the honeycomb-textured Ghewar.  These special treats will be served across all cabins on flights to and from India, as well as on services to the  UK (London and Manchester), US (Boston, Chicago, New York and Washington DC), Toronto in Canada  and Colombo in Sri Lanka.

As a leading global airline serving 80 destinations worldwide and with staff from more than 140 different  nationalities, Etihad is proud to celebrate a wide range of multi-cultural festivities on board such as Diwali,  Ramadan, Eid, Thanksgiving and the holiday season. Etihad’s experience for its guests is deeply rooted in  the generous and welcoming hospitality of its home, the UAE, blending traditional Emirati values with the  multi-cultural diversity of the modern emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Celebrating Diwali with an expanded Indian  network This year, Etihad has significantly boosted its  network across India, launching services to Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram and Jaipur and now serving  11 destinations across India. Just four months after Etihad commenced flights to the Rajasthan city of  Jaipur, the airline has announced it will increase flights between Abu Dhabi and Jaipur to ten a week from  15 December 2024, demonstrating the popularity of the route. For more information about Etihad  Airways and its services, please visit etihad.com.